New Year, New City, New Job

2014 is upon us.

Just as 1814 saw the Congress of Vienna redraw the landscape of Europe and the colonial world.

Just as 1914 saw a world war break out that changed the identities of nations and framed the struggle for peace in the 20th century.

Just as 2014 will see a period change from me that will forever be linked with the future of world as we know it. (I suppose this is technically true.)

Last year saw complacency break down into chaos as I left everything and spent 40 weeks wandering (part of which time I was in a desert). This year will see a return to the normality of life, but in a new and improved framework. Yes friends, I am moving away from Seattle and relocating to San Diego. I have accepted a job in San Diego with - surprise - The Navy.  I'm getting back on the same horse, but this time in a different organization doing different work. So it's all the thrill of a new job, but without restarting at the bottom of the totem pole.

I was offered the job right before Christmas and accepted it, and I'm moving down there next week. My girlfriend Carly will stay up in Seattle for the time being and eventually come down when she finds a job. But this means that I need to find a place to live again. So I'm back on the craigslist looking for places. I realized this might be my last new roommate for awhile and I've had quite a few roommates in the past.

In my first "Roommates" post I counted I lived with 20 people over the course of college. That number didn't change much post college until this summer when I moved back into a house in Ann Arbor. So I think it is time for a new count of my total number of roommates. Remember I only count people that I lived with for at least 2 or 3 months so summer sublets count. Someone staying at our place while they were between leases for a couple of weeks doesn't count. Live-in girlfriends don't count either unless they really lived there.

Roommate count by year we started living together:

Pre-2005: Laura, Julie, Mom, Dad - 4

2005: Max -1

2006: Jake, Sara, Rachel, Ross, Pete, Aaron, James, Fritz - 8

2007: Sara, Paul, Courtney, Emily, Brett, Al - 6

2008: Brick, Andy, Jay, Max, Paul, Matt, Zola, - 7

2009: N/A

2010: Tyler - 1

2011: N/A

2012: N/A

2013: Kevin, Tyler, Carly - 3

2014: ?

So I'm at a cool 30 different roommates.  Only five of which I've chronicled in "Roommates" posts. Some may not be worthy, but perhaps I should do a few more of those posts. They are awkward and fun. 

But overall I'm excited about the new job and moving to sunny San Diego. It has all happened pretty suddenly, but I think it will be an exciting life change. So California here I come.

News

The bad news:
I've been bested by the City of Ann Arbor again. For me to get a chicken permit, my landlord, and every one of my neighbor landlords would have to ok it. Also, all of my neighbor landlords would have to sign a waiver to build it within 40 feet of their houses. Also, the coop would have to be 10 feet from the property lines. I am greatly upset.

The good news:
With my employment put to a vote, the verdict was 3-2 to not fire me. When I first started driving buses one of my trainers said he would be surprised if I lasted 2 weeks. Well, I've made it 2 years. But they are actively looking for a reason to fire me. So that's the good news.

Taco Bell on Campus!

Holy Shit. My source inside University Unions just confirmed that future dining options at the University is to include a Taco Bell in the League. For years students have complained about the lack of Taco Bell on campus. It even hurt our college rankings. Having a Taco Bell in the league will change campus forever. Talk about a recruiting tool. Hopefully it will be open late night. I pray it's not anything like Wendy's, whose hours are literally 10am-2pm during the summer.

According to a long time university bus driver, there was a Taco bell on campus at one point. I think it was by Rick's. It was removed either because health violations, or because fast food was eliminated from the South U downtown district. In the past there have been MSA candidates who have run on the bring Taco Bell to Campus platform. They were elected and failed to come through. Most recently in 2003 when UMEC almost voted to place a Taco Bell in Pierpont Commons.

If you don't believe me, remember that I did break the Quiznos in Pierpont Story.

Also, Panda Express is replacing Villa Pizza in the Union. There is also talk of Dominoes replacing Magic Wok, but nothing is confirmed.